Maria's Spirit
by The Magic Pickle Fairy
Summary: While Amy believes that Rouge is the reincarnation of Maria. As Rouge has a cope with Shadow living with her. Shadow has to get a job with Robotnik. Everything ties into trouble with all three problems.
1. Bored

Note to Readers: This is indeed a rewrite from a fanfiction that I did my last year of Middle School. Now that it's my last year of high school I wanted to re-write a fanfiction and I chose one I previously named: Maria's Soul. I found the story good but how I executed it terrible. So this would be something for me to see how I improved in my writing skills.

Disclaimer: A majority of the characters are owned by SEGA. I make acceptations to a character that would not be appearing in the first chapter.

Maria's Spirit

Chapter 1

Bored

Rouge the Bat was just bored out of her mind. She walked out of her apartment building to think as she walked through the city of Station Square. She looked around looking at the small businesses that come around the area. Such futile efforts to make money, who don't they work for the government like she did? She made a decent living at seventeen.

Justin's Pizza Place, Ned's Nerd Utopia, Amy's Fortunes, such simple names but told a lot. That "Amy" name did sound familiar though. She took a look at the window and saw a pink hedgehog who wore a red dress. That must have been the Amy that told the fortunes. She also looked like the Amy that chased that Sonic around. Rouge had never had a conversation with her but she knew her through other acquaintances.

Rouge opened the door and took a seat on a cushiony chair. She couldn't believe that she was doing this. She had no need to know what would happen in the future. It was something to do besides walking and thinking about other lifestyles. She looked at her gloved finger nails and asked, "So, Amy, what's my future?"

The hedgehog smiled and titled her bandana wrapped head as she sat across from her on another cushiony chair. "Well," she stated, "I have many things to offer. I have tarot cards, hand readings, I also can tell the past lives of some people."

Rouge knew a little bit about past lives, one year at school she learned about India and its religions. Most of them believed that when people died that they became someone else in other lives.

The bat didn't believe in past lives. Curious about what Amy would tell her she asked, "how about my past life?"

Amy took out her clear crystal ball and told Rouge to touch it. She focused on the ball, "you where a blonde woman with blue eyes," she looked at it deeper, but then her eyes grew bigger, "you…you…lived in the space colony ARK?"

Rouge shrugged, "so I died in the ARK, didn't I?"

"Well, yes," Amy hesitated, "but I think…um…perhaps…you were Maria, Professor Gerald's granddaughter in your past life?"

Snorts came from Rouge's nose as she tried not to laugh. She couldn't believe that Amy had this image in her head that she was Shadow's dead girlfriend. At least she thought that was the case with Maria and Shadow.

"AH, finally, the reincarnation of Maria," a voice called out from under the table that was draped with a blue tablecloth with sparkling silver moons and stars. Dr. Eggman emerged from under the table, "finally I have been waiting here for days to finally find her so I can take her hostage for Shadow to work for me!"

An eyebrow rose from Rouge's head, "first of all, you're creepy. Second of all, can't you pay him to work for you?"

As Eggman sat down to think Rouge just ran right out of the place and across the street to a grocery store. Even though she didn't pay Amy, she at least got a free laugh inside of herself before she had to flee. Rouge just thought that Eggman was just plain weird. Did Shadow even believe in that stuff?

Speaking of the devil, Shadow passed by with a brown grocery bag, "oh Rouge!" Shadow seemed a bit too excited to see her for a hedgehog like Shadow.

Rouge greeted him with a slight wave. She was expecting that Shadow's change of never-changing mood would not be a good thing.

"Rouge, I need a place to stay," was what he said next. This was understandable because Shadow didn't say anything about living anywhere ever since she released him from Eggman's machine.

"Fine," Rouge said with much expression, "you can stay with me." Even if Rouge had her good deed, it came with a price, "but you need to pay half the rent." She took a look at Shadow's grocery bag, and she had to ask, "Where did you get the money to buy those groceries?"

A very slight sweat drop appeared on Shadow's head, "I would have to admit, I stole your jewels."

"SHADOW," Rouge screamed on the top of her lungs as she ran right at him, "you are going to pay for those!"

"Oh, damn it," Shadow immediately activated his hover shoes and skated as fast as he could. He knew that talking to Rouge at that second wasn't a good idea, as much as a bad idea as stealing from a treasure hunter.


	2. Employment Quest

Maria's Spirit

Chapter 2

Employment Quest

The cool thing about most couches was that they could unfold into beds. So Rouge didn't only have one bed in her apartment, she had two. She took the pillows of her couch off and unfolded the bed. She didn't thought that it was that "cool" or "awesome", but useful because a hedgehog begged her to live with her.

Shadow on the floor with Rouge's laptop to look for jobs at Station Square, or so Rouge thought. He was actually looking through different journals that depressed people wrote on. "You know about those Google ads?"

Rouge didn't answer; she was in her closet collecting sheets and pillows. It was probably for the better for Shadow because he was just like a high school teenager who was supposed to do his homework, not doing it. He clicked out of the Livejournal tab and looked up, "Jobs in Station Square" on Google. They were mostly at fast food restaurants and others were free internships.

After Rouge threw the pink sheets on the bed she walked over to Shadow, "how's the search coming?"

Shadow glared deeply at the laptop, as if it was his most hated rival ever. Sonic may have some competition with Rouge's computer. "Would I rather work at McDonalds or KFC?"

A thought came into Rouge's head from earlier that day. Eggman was hiding under Amy's table, with the desire to have Shadow work for him. She also suggested that Eggman should pay Shadow. Maybe she had something going for both her and Shadow. "What if you could work for Eggman?"

"Does he own a fast food restaurant?"

With a slight snort from her nose she said, "no, but he does have some plans and needs you. I bet he could pay you."

A shrug came from Shadow, "fine, but where are we going to find him?"

"It's near by the Mystic Ruins," Rouge informed Shadow, "we need to take a train, but it's free."

So Rouge got her keys to her apartment and they walked over to the train station to Eggman's base.

* * *

The mystic ruins seemed like a maze of vines to get through. "Rouge?" Shadow asked as they stepped by a tree, "when are we finally going to get there?"

"Wait up, I think I have a map in my pocket," Rouge told Shadow as she searched her pocket for the print.

"You mean that we have been wandering around for an hour and you had a map?" Shadow was pretty pissed by now. If only he knew that Rouge had a map that entire time.

"Hold it for a second," Rouge had found the map and walked a little bit and found the base, "I think I have found it."

"Finally," Shadow rolled his eyes. Maybe he didn't hate Rouge as much as he hated her computer. He stepped into the automatic door and Rouge followed.

It was a dark based, filled with robots that resembled Sonic the Hedgehog, and other automatic doors fled across the walls. Eggman had to be somewhere. "Hey, Robotnik," Shadow cried out.

A floating machine came above to two. Who sat in the machine was no other than Dr. Eggman. "Why hello there," he greeted, "have you come to work for me?"

"With a deal," Rouge implied, "you will have to pay Shadow to do the work."

"Good, it's a deal then," Dr. Eggman jumped down from his ship, "follow me then." He stepped through the door and they both followed. While they were walking, Eggman decided to have some conversation. "Ever heard of Chao, Shadow?"

"Why of course he has," Rouge answered for him, "everyone in the world loves them."

"Yea," Shadow grumbled, "everyone."

"Well," said Dr. Eggman, "I am using that to my advantage, you see, I have created a chao to become the ultimate chao. I have raised it to perfection, and now, after two times of death, it's ready. I want Shadow to raise the chao for me, for I am busy with my other plans." Eggman stopped at a capsule with an egg inside that was black with blue that swirled around the egg. Eggman opened the capsule and fog came out all over the dimly light room.

"Um, Robotnik, will I really need to…raise…this chao?" Shadow seemed very reluctant about raising a chao. He didn't really hate chao, but he never thought of keeping one before.

"Well, if you don't want the job then…."

There was no way that Rouge would live with Shadow without him having a job. "No, Shadow would definitely take the job."

"Great," Eggman smiled as he handed the egg to Shadow, "it's already at its third reincarnation so you will need to give it all of the animals to make it truly immortal."

"Fine," Shadow took the egg right from Eggman's hands. "I will raise this chao."

They both walked out of Eggman's base. Rouge took out the map and they went their way back to station square.

"I hope you're happy," Shadow grumbled.

"Yea, I am," Rouge gave a big smile to Shadow, "I truly am."


	3. To the Chao Garden

Maria's Spirit

Chapter 3

To the Chao Garden

Sarah Draspira was sitting behind the front desk of the Chao garden. She was a teenaged human girl. She just sat there, in the empty office, next to the elevator to the chao garden. She was alone but not lonely for she had her Sudoku book. Her pencil flashed around the puzzle as she sat behind the desk. She was very involved until….

"Hello?" a black hedgehog with a black and blue chao egg asked, "I've been standing here for five minuets."

Sarah looked up "oh, I'm sorry mister, would you like to sign in?" She pushed a clipboard to Shadow, "today is a slow day, there is only one other person in the neutral garden."

Shadow signed his name and the current time and he came into the elevator.

"I hope you enjoy your new chao," Sarah smiled at Shadow, and she went back to her puzzle, "this hedgehog did look familiar. Maybe he was on the news once or twice."

* * *

Amy Rose was a fortune teller, a chao breeder and Sonic's future girlfriend…maybe not the last one. The pink hedgehog petted her blue neutral running chao and smiled. It was a warm day as the spring breeze came rushing by. There was only her and Sonni-kun, her chao.

That was what Shadow witnessed when he walked into the garden. He didn't like the sight, but he had this feeling that he would never be like that pink hedgehog. Shadow looked at the egg that Eggman gave him and threw it against the wall. If this egg was the only way for him to live with Rouge, then so be it. Let it hatch more quickly.

A Chao busted out of the shells confused. Shadow could have easily told that it was confused because of the swirl above its head.

The pink hedgehog looked at the chao, "oh, the poor thing!" She ran over to the chao and hugged it, "now who threw you?"

With an appalled look Shadow just walked to the hedgehog and his chao and said, "I believe that it is my chao."

"I believe that this chao is a she," Amy cried, "and you have to treat your chao more nicely."

Shadow's eyes just rolled, "fine, you can teach me how to care for these creatures."

"Okay," Amy smiled at Shadow, "first thing is that you should pet a chao to make it happier."

A slight groan came out of Shadow and he pet the chao. A little heart came out of her head. So Shadow assumed that it was happy. "What's next?"

"Well, you better feed the chao," Amy said, "go shake a tree and give it a coconut."

Mumbles came from Shadow as he shook the tree, he rapidly shook the tree as hard as he could until all of the coconuts came off. He didn't care, he kept on shaking. All that emotion came out of that tree.

"Wow, Shadow," Amy ran up to Shadow, "not that much, if you don't want me to teach you, I don't have to."

He just glanced at Amy, "Amy, it's not that, it's…Rouge."

Amy looked around to see if no one was there. She knew that the truth could hurt sometimes, but she had to tell it. "Shadow, I have to tell you something about Rouge."

Shadow gave his chao one of the many coconuts that he shook from the tree.

The chao looked joyful about getting a coconut. She ate it until it was a little pint then threw it away. She was full already.

Amy decided not to tell Shadow anything. If he was so angry at Rouge, he shouldn't tell him that now. "What are you going to name your chao?"

He picked up the chao with much delight; maybe this whole chao raising business wasn't going to be too bad. "I think I will call her Maria."

Amy giggled, "That's a nice name." She remembered that Shadow lost Maria a long time ago. Even if she did reincarnate into Rouge, maybe this chao would take some things off his back.

Shadow waved to Amy and left the chao garden. He was glad to learn a thing or two about chao, as annoying as it was. Eggman would have probably wanted quality work.

* * *

When Shadow got back to Rouge's apartment she was already there eating a Cesar Salad in front of the television. She was watching some World War II documentary. "I have more salad in the kitchen."

Maria climbed up on Shadow's head as he grabbed some salad from the bowl. He walked to the couch which was currently a bed where Rouge was watching The History Channel.

Rouge gave a look at Shadow and who was on his head, "that's a pretty cute chao there."

Shadow just sighed, this chao wasn't hard to hatch but it would be harder to take care of. He knew that much chaos would happen with this chao. Maybe they were named chao because they were only an S away from chaos. "You like chao?"

Rouge smiled, "why of course, I used to have one. Looked a little like Nights from that SEGA Saturn game, although he did die."

A shrug went up from Shadow's shoulders, "well, this is my job. I'll call Robotnik tomorrow on Maria."

"Is that what you named the chao?" Rouge asked. "I guess it's a good name." Rouge took another bite from her homemade salad.

Shadow took the first bite out of the salad. It was very creamy, fresh and crunchy all at the same time. It had the appearance of being made right in that apartment. She did a pretty good job with making it. He continued watching until Rouge turned of the television to go to sleep. "Good night Shadow," she gave a slight wave to him."

"Night Rouge," Shadow said. He put the empty bowl of salad and went to sleep.


	4. Shadow Education

A/N: Sorry for the delay, I was working on some OCs and making sure that they are both not Mary Sues. The last thing that I want in this fic is minor characters who are Sues. Yeah, so here it is.

Maria's Spirit

Chapter 4

Shadow Education

Shadow didn't know that Rouge had to wake up pretty early at weekdays. He thought that she was a secret agent, but she was only part time. Her other occupation was a student at Station Square High School. She didn't particularly like school that much; she would rather do missions for the president than analysis Things Fall Apart in African Literature.

Rouge had two friends, Gabby and Sasha. She never seen them outside of school but they were friends after all.

Gabby was a white dove that had the eyes of a hawk. She was a journalist for the school's newspaper but enjoyed a sport named Extreme Gear. Rouge tried it once or twice, but didn't play as often as Gabby.

Sasha was no other than human, they were the most common species among Earth and she was one of them. She was very obsessive on one thing or another, but it seemed like it was the same obsession with the boy she was dating.

"So, Rouge," Sasha began to speak as they walked the city streets to get to school, "how about that Knuckles guy?"

They were interesting, but they mostly talked about boys. Once in a while they would ask Rouge about what boy she liked. It seemed to be a mistake to say anything about Knuckles.

"Yeah, when was the last time you even met him?" Gabby asked, "It seemed like forever since you mentioned him."

Rouge rolled her eyes, "it was for, like, five seconds, it was mostly fighting."

"Hmm," Sasha considered, "you think that you are over Knuckles? Then who's the new guy?"

Annoying girls who cared very little about anything, even if Dr. Eggman took over the world they wouldn't even know. Well, maybe Gabby, but she wouldn't even care. "No, the only 'boy' that I am in any contact with is Shadow."

Another mistake which Rouge made, telling them about Shadow, but was she saved by the Green Hill Zone song off her cell phone. She looked at the Caller ID, and it was Ray, the man who assigned missions for Rouge. "You guys can walk ahead, this is personal."

"Fine, but we will need to talk about Shadow at lunch," Gabby said, "He is The Ultimate Lifeform after all."

Rouge picked up the phone, "talk to me."

Ray was a nice guy, maybe a bit too nice. His wife always mixed the colored and the whites in the laundry, so his shirt was always a bright pink. He never said anything about it, it didn't seem like he cared, "hi Rouge, we have a mission for you tonight, so you don't have to skip school."

Her eyes rolled again of agony. At least he couldn't see her do that, "Um…Great, what is it?"

"So, there is the yearly raffle, which donates to a different organization each year. You will have the guard the prize just in case someone steals it."

"What's the prize?"

"Every chao animal in existence," Ray answered.

Rouge nodded her head, "fine, so I will come over tonight, and what about pay?"

Ray cracked a joke, "how about a paper clip and a piece of lint?"

"Ray, I'm serious!" Rouge only heard the dial tone and she was at the school building. She put on her black emo glasses and walked in. First period Organic Chemistry would be all so exciting.

* * *

"CHAO!" cried the hungry Maria, "CHAO, CHAO, CHAO!" 

Shadow woke up around 10:00 AM from the yelling chao, "fine, what do you want?"

The chao pointed to the refrigerator, "chao!"

Shadow opened the fridge and grabbed an apple. It was a red and yellow apple that Rouge must have liked; there was a whole bag of them. She probably wouldn't mind if he took one for Maria. He also took out some cereal for himself. It was Fiber One Cereal, he thought that it seemed more like pet food, but it didn't matter, it was edible. He also took out some milk and poured it all over the small twigs.

* * *

Honey Crisp apples were Rouge's favorite type of apples. She bought them at the local grocery store near by Amy's fortune telling business. They're only around during autumn so she bought a bunch of them. She had one for lunch that day, which was the very lunch that she grieved over for the entire day. 

"So," Sasha slid her lunch tray right next to Rouge, "what about Shadow the Hedgehog?"

"He's created by Professor Gerald Robotnik to be the Ultimate life form and…."

"No, what is your relationship with him?" Sasha said, "Like Tom and I, yesterday we went to Barnes and Noble and reviewed each other's outlines. So we are in a dating relationship."

"You write?" Rouge asked, at least it would change the subject.

"No, but Tom sure does."

Gabby sat down across from Rouge and asked, "So, what about Shadow?"

"Sasha beat you on asking that question," Rouge said, "We are just living in the same apartment, that's all. We are both paying rent, we are just apartment mates."

Both of the girls giggled, "That's what you say now," said Sasha.

* * *

The phone rang on Eggman's line, "why hello Shadow, do you have any news for me?" 

"Yes, the chao hatched, and I named her Maria."

"After my cousin I suppose."

"Well, yes, I did name her after…."

"Then I have some news for you…."

"Forget the news, what's my next mission?"

"Get all of the chao animals," said Dr. Eggman, "I have the order in which to give it to her, don't give her any until you get them all and tell me."

"Good, I'll get them," said Shadow.

Shadow hung up and turned on the TV. He watched a documentary on Hamburgers, and then switched to the news. "Station Square's Raffle is tomorrow, this year we will donate to the 'Read Books or Else' charity."

Shadow looked at a book on a table, "hmm, maybe that is a good idea." He picked up the book and read the title The Phantom of the Opera. He had seen a silent movie of that name back in the ARK, maybe the book would be better.

The woman on the TV continued, "The prize would be every chao animal in existence."

The book dropped from Shadow's hands, what luck, he could win the raffle and get all of the animals, just like that.

"And just in case someone steals the prize we have high security brought to you by G.U.N."

Or Shadow could always steal them. He was working for Dr. Eggman so Shadow knew for a fact that he would love it if Shadow stole them.

* * *

It was lucky that Shadow was a black hedgehog because he could always be stealthy without wearing any ninja like gear. Maria was also a black chao, so she didn't have to wear any either. 

They found out that it took place at a warehouse, and that the security was said to be high. Shadow found the right place, but he found out that the security wasn't what was said in the news. There were security cameras but he ran fast enough to get through. There were guards but they were talking about books. So he had gotten to the prize easily.

The end wasn't going to be easy because he found Rouge guarding the cardboard box filled with small animals. "Rouge!" he whispered.

Rouge looked up at Shadow, "Shadow?"

"Shit…"

"Chao!"

"I didn't know…."

"Why?"

"I did it for the Doctor…and…and you."


End file.
